Success Squad Blog http://success-squad-blog.posterous.com Most recent posts at Success Squad Blog posterous.com Tue, 13 Mar 2012 01:31:00 -0700 Make it a Habit to Swim Upstream http://success-squad-blog.posterous.com/make-it-a-habit-to-swim-upstream http://success-squad-blog.posterous.com/make-it-a-habit-to-swim-upstream

In the previous post, “Elephant’s Don’t Bite” I explain how your life is ultimately dictated based upon the choices you make which in turn creates a habit.

Whatever choice you made in life is the direct result of your current financial status, size of your pants, your relationship status, and overall happiness.

Many of us want our lives to be better but we are already comfortable (or have just accepted) where we are in our lives.

Definition of insanity:

Doing the same things you’ve always done and expecting different results.

Now I know you are not insane so it all begins with the choices you choose from now on that will dictate what type of life you want to live.  So now the big question you are asking is, “How do I know what the right choices are?”

Here is a simple formula I learned from Darren Hardy (the publisher of Success magazine):

When in doubt, choose the harder task or what you don’t want to do – that’s usually exactly what you should do.  Take the path of MOST resistance to create a positive habit.

Many of you are probably thinking (like I was thinking) why would I want to do that?  But let’s put it this way: If you are disappointed in where you are in life right now, whatever choices you have been making aren’t working.  So maybe you should change some choices you are making now.  Remember the definition of insanity?

You and your brain are creatures of habit.

It is easy enough to talk yourself into taking the comfortable and easy route.  Just like a rushing river, these bad habits will wash you back downstream in the wrong direction.  The only way to change that direction is to retrain those negative habits into positive ones through habitual tendency.

Think of this like climbing a mountain.  Someone doesn’t go against gravity and suffer because he knows that it’ll be easy going back down.  Usually people tackle climbing a mountain because they know that once at the top they will have accomplished something very few people have dared to try.  They also look forward to the view at the top and the feeling of knowing that they took on a challenge and have conquered.

So what I am asking you is to conquer your bad habits and to pursue a path of MOST resistance in order to accomplish your goals.

Here are some examples of low resistance and high resistance choices.

Low Resistance:

  • Surrendering to peer pressure
  • Starting your new program on “Monday” or tomorrow (instead of today)
  • Reacting in anger
  • Holding a grudge
  • Going along with gossip
  • Giving the ‘silent treatment’
  • Blaming others
  • Making excuses

High Resistance

  • Feeling the fear and doing it anyway
  • Admitting you were wrong and apologizing
  • Going to the gym when you don’t feel like it
  • Ordering a salad when that burger is tempting you
  • Forgiving someone who wronged you
  • Saying no to (yet another) alcoholic drink
  • Taking responsibility for your actions

The only way a person grows and learns new experiences is to reach outside of their comfort zone.  These experiences are what many people fear but through repetition it becomes a habit and it is no longer uncomfortable.  If you want to finally obtain what’s missing from your life you need to start doing stuff you avoid and things that you think are hard.

Make a commitment to do something you fear each day or dedicate yourself to accomplish a task you have been postponing or hate doing.  Start off really small like swapping out a meal with a salad or going on a 20 minute jog.  I don’t expect you to be a new person overnight, but just make a commitment that you will reach outside of your comfort zone.  Fight the tendency. Climb up that mountain. Take the path of most resistance.

I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

Make a list of the things you avoid but know you should do.  Once you have written them down, declare it and take action.  What three things do you NOT want to do, but you will commit to doing today? Let us know in the comments below!

See you at the top,

Jus10

PS - Click here for the original article and other useful success tips.

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Mon, 12 Mar 2012 21:25:00 -0700 Video: Jay-Z Entrepreneurial Hustler http://success-squad-blog.posterous.com/video-jay-z-entrepreneurial-hustler http://success-squad-blog.posterous.com/video-jay-z-entrepreneurial-hustler

Jay-Z = Entrepreneurial Hustler

We all see Jay-Z popping bottles and living the lifestyle of the rich and famous, but what many people don’t realize is that he is the epitome of an entrepreneurial hustler.  Jay-Z can be identified as a hustler who never stopped working and never settled for anything except success.  He went from owning very little clothes to owning his own clothing line and owning his own record label.  Of course this didn’t happen over night, but there must be a correlation between the amount of hustle you put in and the amount of success you are rewarded with.

Jay-Z always thought bigger than what was around him and never settled for the status quo. He took the life of an entrepreneur because he knew that he wasn’t able to become greater than who he was just working a 9-5.  I strongly believe that successful people have already proved that they can make it so why not just do what they did? (Of course you must be able to brand yourself and not deviate from who you are) Follow their footsteps on the way to the top.

For all you aspiring entrepreneurs who are on the road to success, pay close attention to this video by mycomeup.com.

Jay-Z spits his insight and drops his real talk on what it takes hustle to the top.

Take a look at his journey and how he was able to become a successful entrepreneur.

 

The main thing that I want to take away from this video is:

1) He started. Jay-Z had a vision and just did it.

2) He never stopped.  Once Jay-Z started he never gave up in pursuit of his dream.

They were the only ones who believed in themselves.  They came across many rejections, many haters, many doubters, but they had the drive to keep pushing forward.  I’m sure many of you young entrepreneurs are facing these problems and I want to reassure you that you are not alone.

The harder you hustle now, just like Jay-Z, you will be able to celebrate extravagantly.

Always stay on your grind and have that hustler mentality.

See you at the top,

Jus10

P.S. – Click here for the original article.

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Wed, 07 Mar 2012 20:58:00 -0800 Make the Invisible Visible #KONY2012 http://success-squad-blog.posterous.com/make-the-invisible-visible-kony2012 http://success-squad-blog.posterous.com/make-the-invisible-visible-kony2012

#KONY2012 is creating a movement never seen before and is finally making the invisible, visible around the world.

Technology now a days can be such a huge game changer in our lives, community, and the world.  Technology allows invisible people to become visible. Some people really dislike this idea because you feel vulnerable, while others embellish this idea and use it to become exposed and recognized.  However, people neglect the true power of social media in which it enables a tiny seed of thought to grow into a vast movement of change that will make an impossible idea become possible.

So what is my point? I was browsing on facebook and I constantly see this video about “KONY 2012″ pop up in my newsfeed.  I read the comments saying “how this movement is awesome”, “the invisible children will be seen”, “let’s make KONY famous”, and so on and so on…so I click on it and was immediately memorized. (If you haven’t watched it yet, the video is down below.  But here is a quick over view to get you up to par.)

Who is Joseph Kony?

Joseph Kony is the world’s worst war criminal. In 1987 he took over leadership of an existing rebel group and renamed it the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).

The LRA has earned a reputation for its cruel and brutal tactics. When Joseph Kony found himself running out of fighters, he started abducting children to be soldiers in his army or “wives” for his officers. The LRA is encouraged to rape, mutilate, and kill civilians–often with blunt weapons.

The LRA is no longer active in northern Uganda (where it originated) but it continues its campaign of violence in Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, and South Sudan. In its 26-year history, the LRA has abducted more than 30,000 children and displaced at least 2.1 million people.

What is the goal of KONY 2012?

Invisible Children is a non-profit organization reaching out to the community, celebrities, and the world in order to finally expose KONY.  Invisible Children has been working for 9 years to end Africa’s longest-running armed conflict. U.S. military advisers are currently deployed in Central Africa on a “time-limited” mission to stop Kony and disarm the LRA. If Kony isn’t captured this year, the window will be gone.

This movement wants to ensure two things happen within 2012 and to make people like YOU aware of what is happening.

1) That Joseph Kony is known as the World’s Worst War Criminal.

2) That the U.S. military advisers support the Ugandan Army until Kony has been captured and the LRA has been completely disarmed. They need to follow through all the way and finish what they have started.

So what we can do to help is make KONY “FAMOUS”!

Invisible Children’s KONY 2012 campaign aims to make Joseph Kony famous, not to celebrate him, but to raise support for his arrest and set a precedent for international justice. In this case, notoriety translates to public support. If people know about the crimes that Kony has been committing for 26 years, they will unite to stop him.

Secondly, we want Kony to be famous so that when he is stopped, he will be a visible, concrete example of international justice. Then other war criminals will know that their mass atrocities will not go unnoticed or unpunished.

Please watch this video and please share it with as many people as you can in order to do your part in ending this inhumane criminal.

Click here for the orignal article and to find video

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Mon, 05 Mar 2012 23:06:00 -0800 5 Practical Tips To Develop A Foundation Of Good Habits http://success-squad-blog.posterous.com/5-practical-tips-to-develop-a-foundation-of-g http://success-squad-blog.posterous.com/5-practical-tips-to-develop-a-foundation-of-g

We are all creatures of habit and our habits whether it is good or bad forms who we are or will become in life.

Aristotle wrote, “We are what we repeatedly do.”  Therefore, through conscious or unconscious repetition we mold our character based on the constant actions we pursue everyday.

The most frightening thing about creating habits is that many times we are not aware of how we created that habit in the first place. 

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2650/4098673338_74cb25e508.jpg

This reminds me of the surfers and body boarders out here in Hawaii.  While waiting for the set of waves to come in there is a constant and subtle current that usually forces people to drift away if they are not aware it.  The smart surfers are constantly paddling their way back to where were in order to be in the perfect spot when the waves come.  The lazy surfers, on the other hand, are usually not aware of the current. The next thing they know they are drifting further and further away from where they want to be.  When they finally realize how far they have drifted, they have to work 10 times harder just to get back to where they began.  Usually by that time, the smart surfers have already caught a few waves and are enjoying the surf.  This analogy pertains to most people’s lives; they’re drifting away with the current of habits with no idea where they are headed.

It’s time to take control of your surfboard, and move your life in the direction of where you really want to go.

Psychological studies reveal that 95% of everything we feel, think, do, and achieve is a result of a learned habit.

Developing bad habits can literally happen overnight because there is usually instant gratification that comes along with it.  Developing good habits require a little more awareness and commitment, but the pay out will be a life of success and happiness that comes “second nature”.

Below are five tips that you can implement in your life to build a solid foundation of habits for your healthy lifestyle.

Be Clear

Know exactly what you want from your habit and be specific about it.  The means of transportation to get you to your destination doesn’t matter if you have no idea where to go.  That private jet of yours could be the fastest and most prestigious way to travel, but if there is no destination soon the plane will crash down into flames.  A habit of wanting to be “healthy” isn’t specific enough and you must be developing clarity in your habits.  Instead, you might want to develop habits such as not drinking soda or limiting soda to one can a day, or reading a few pages of a personal development book each night.  Having a clear game plan will aid in executing the steps towards a healthy habit.

Focus

A technique that I have learned from Dr. Oz is to not focus on the negative aspect, but rather the positive.  Try and not focus on what you can’t have and instead focus on what you can have.  I know this might seem weird, but a small shift in mindset could be the one thing that helps you to get over that “hump” of creating your good habit.  Let’s say you want to start eating healthier.  Instead of telling yourself that you can’t have any ice cream, try telling yourself that you are excited to have your favorite fruit that you just bought.

Repetition

Yes I know, this sounds brutal and I hated this word when I was playing sports.  However, this is one of the most fundamental keys in creating a positive habit.  My coach and dad will drill it in my head to keep doing it and every practice I will be forced to do it.  The next thing I knew, I have created what many athletes call “muscle memory” where your body reacts to a certain situation with out hesitation because it remembers what it is supposed to do in that situation.  In order to form a long-lasting positive habit, you have to commit to the change every day.  And then recommit to it the next day and the day after that until you don’t even realize that you are doing it.

Start Out Small

Burn out is one of the biggest problems I see when creating change.  Many times people decide to make a change in their life and begin with making drastic transformations.  They create ridiculous goals by saying they are going to go to the gym 5 times a week, not eat anything sweet, and read a book a day.  Once a person realizes that this is too much they begin to take a day off, then a week off, then the next thing they know they are back to where they started.  So SLOW YOUR ROLE…try and create goals that challenge you but are able to be reasonably obtained.  Once you accomplish those goals then create another set of goals that will continue to help you grow.

Let The World Know

When establishing a new habit, it might sound absurd, but let as much people know what you are doing to create a positive habit.  You are not only accountable, but you will also begin to receive support and motivation from those who truly care about you.  Of course there will be negative dream vampires sucking the life out of you, but realize that they are probably just jealous because they aren’t willing to do what you are doing.  They are just waiting for the moment to say, “I told you so”, but instead, beat them to it so you can say, “I told you so”.

Begin by creating a good habit by surrounding yourself with people who want to see you succeed.  Follow us by subscribing to our email newsletter where you can stay updated on the latest insights.

See you at the top,

Jus10

PS – Click here for the original article.

*Surfer picture taken by Sean Davey at http://flickriver.com/photos/seandavey/popular-interesting/

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